Israeli

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAELI - PAGE 2

I would like to respond to a Feb. 4 letter to the editor. The writer's question was, "Are Palestinian lives worthless or just worth less than Israeli lives?" Apparently, the answer is yes, because I have never read where Israelis recruit children to be so-called martyrs by becoming suicide bombers. Israeli mothers don't have children so they can become these bombers. Israeli schools don't teach their children that the Palestinians should be wiped off the face off the Earth. Israelis don't use children and women as shields during fighting, nor do they use schools and temples as attack locations.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli television reporter Gil Sadan drove toward the West Bank at 9 a.m. in what will become a grueling 12-hour work day. Of the 50 reporters on staff at Israeli state television, Sadan is one of three that regularly covers the Occupied Territories. He is also one of three Jewish staff reporters who speaks Arabic. At age 43, tinges of gray speckle Sadan`s black, close-cropped hair. Reflecting the general casual dress of Israeli society, he wears a blue knit cotton shirt, acid-washed jeans and sandals.

Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip killed a woman and wounded several other people in this border town Wednesday, drawing warnings of a military response from Israeli leaders. It was the first fatal Palestinian rocket strike on Israel since it withdrew from the Gaza Strip last year. The attacks have continued despite repeated army raids in an effort to halt the fire. The armed wing of Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliating for an Israeli shelling last week that killed 19 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

JERUSALEM -- Israel ordered widespread closings of Arab schools and universities in the occupied territories on Tuesday in the face of continuing unrest. Many of the schools had already been closed by the authorities for long periods during the recent disturbances. Israel reopened some on Monday but decided almost immediately that they would become focal points for fresh trouble. As the duration of the street protests neared the two-month mark, Israeli officials said they were prepared to keep large military contingents throughout the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as long as necessary to control the unrest.

In the melancholy but never melodramatic Broken Wings, an Israeli family struggles to cope with the loss of its patriarch. Mother Dafna (Orly Silbersatz Banai) is a midwife. She works long, erratic shifts at the local hospital. Dafna is trying -- and largely failing -- not to let her depression overwhelm her ability to be a good parent to her four children. As a result, most of the burden falls on Maya (Maya Maron). She's a high school student whose dreams of becoming a rock singer have been put on hold.

Israeli ambassadors Meir Rosenne and Benjamin Netanyahu will be among several leading speakers at a women`s Zionist convention in Miami Beach next week. The event will be the annual gathering of Hadassah, which will draw about 3,000 women to the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel, 4441 Collins Ave. The convention will be held from Sunday to Wednesday. Netanyahu, Israel`s representative to the United Nations, will be part of a forum on terrorism at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Joining him will be Wolf Blitzer of the Jerusalem Post, Sander Vanocur of ABC News and Michael Putney of WTVJ-Ch.

JERUSALEM -- Responding to a sudden wave of firebomb attacks, senior Israeli government officials are advising civilians that members of the public are within their rights to shoot on sight anyone seen carrying a firebomb. One of the recent firebomb attacks took place at a popular downtown shopping mall in Tel Aviv on Sunday night. The Defense Ministry said on Monday that Yitzhak Rabin, the defense minister, told the Cabinet on Sunday that civilians in the occupied territories were free to shoot any Palestinians "who are seen holding firebombs in their hands," a Defense Ministry official said.

On the day that marks the anniversary of one of the saddest chapters in its history, Israel took a welcome step toward ending the ongoing crisis known as the intifada. It was two years ago on Dec. 8 that Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip began their stone-throwing rebellion against Israeli occupation. The bitter confrontation has continued ever since, with 626 Palestinians and 43 Israelis dying in the ongoing violence. In addition, 155 Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel have been killed by their fellow Arabs.

The Sisterhood of Temple Beth El of Hollywood will join in the worldwide celebration of Jerusalem's 3000th birthday by playing host to the internationally acclaimed Hora Israeli Folk Dance Troupe. The public is invited to be a part of the celebration at the temple, 1351 S. 14th Ave. in Hollywood, beginning at 2 p.m. Feb. 11. The dance troupe has performed around the world. The 90-minute show features costumed dancers, and a singer performing popular Jewish, Israeli and American songs.